Anna
by kitkatkels23
Summary: Damon has to try and face his family after a tragic event. He is struggling through depression. Stefan and Elena help him through it. AU/AH One-Shot


**Okay, so here's my 1st FF. It's completely AU/AH.**

**I'm not all that sure how I feel about it, so you should leave a review and let me know when you're finished please! *hint hint***

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><p>"Mommy!" Six year old Maria yelled through the bathroom door. "Daddy's home!"<p>

"Whoo hoo…," Elizabeth replied sarcastically to her now youngest daughter. "Maria, I don't really care. Now leave me alone." Sighing she turned away from the door. Didn't they understand want leave me alone was? She thought, running her fingers through her hair trying to calm herself down.

"But Mommy…" The voice came through the door again, pleading

"Mari, I said go!" Stephanie cried out to the little girl. She immediately regretted her hostility knowing that it wasn't easy on her children either.

Maria took off and ran to Giuseppe. "Daddy! Mommy locked herself in the bathroom again. I'm scared."

"Okay baby, go watch TV with Elena. I'm going to go try to talk to your mommy," he replied, referring to his seventeen year old daughter.

As he knocked on the bathroom door, Elizabeth looked up with tears rolling down her face, "Maria, I said go! I'm not in the mood right now."

"Ellie, honey, it's Me. Open the door, please." He leaned against the doorframe hoping that she would open the door this time. Even though she never has, he prayed that his wife would let him in. She wasn't the only one grieving.

"No, Peppe. Please, I just want to be alone right now." Elizabeth said with a strangled cry.

Peppe sighed, "Baby, we're all hurting right now. More than you know. You can't sit in there and pretend like you're the only person going through this." Some of his aggravation leaking through, sometimes he just couldn't put up with this.

"She would be five today, Peppe." Her voice sounded so small, almost like a child's. The defeat in her tone was heartbreaking.

"I know, Elizabeth. She was my daughter, too. I miss her just as much as you do, okay? Please, just come out and be with the rest of us. Our kids need their mom. Especially Damon. He's beating himself up. And you're scaring Maria."

The door slowly opened and Elizabeth walked into her husband's arms with mascara covering her face. "I miss her so much, Giuseppe."

* * *

><p>"Sissy, is mommy gonna be okay?" Maria asked Elena.<p>

Sighing Elena responded, "I don't know, sweetie" Her heart was breaking for her little sister. She should not have to see her mother like this.

"I hope so. I miss seeing her smile and hearing her laugh." The innocence in her tone brought tears to Elena's doe eyes.

Nodding while trying to keep her tears at bay, "Yeah, me too, babe."

"Hey guys. How's momma?" Nine year old Stefan asked his sisters.

"She locked herself in the bathroom again and she yelled at Mari again, so not good," Elena said. "How's Damon?"

"He won't come out of his room. I think he's 'bout as sad as momma."

"Yeah. Hey buddy, why don't you go get dressed. I'll help Maria. And when I'm done with her I'll go talk to Damon, okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

><p>Damon came out of his room about the same time his mom and dad walked around the corner. He turned around and went back to his room. He hasn't been able to face his parents since the accident. Especially his mom. They resembled each other too much.<p>

"Damon, wait!" Elizabeth called after him. Only seventeen and already going through so much.

"Mom, I can't," he replied. "Not today. It's too hard. I can't look at you without seeing her. Especially not today."

"It's hard for me, too. She was my daughter. She was Lena, Stef, Mari's, and your little sister. I'm hurting so badly, Damon. We all are." She tried to break through to her son. He had been so hard on himself after everything. He tried to be so brave, not showing vulnerability.

"Yeah, but it's my fault she's d-," he caught himself. "It's my fault she's not here." He said angrily. Didn't they understand at all? It was all his fault. Why couldn't they just see it?

"I don't blame you. Not for a second, Damon! None of us do. She adored you, and you know it."

Anger ripped through his body. No one knew what they were talking about. No one. They can pretend like they don't blame him but he knew they did. It was only a matter of time.

"It's not like that means anything now, mom. She's gone. She's never going to laugh at my corny jokes again. And it's all my fault." Screaming the last part he started towards his bedroom. That's where he wanted to be right now. In his room, alone.

"Stop saying that! It's not your fault!" She said frustrated. It was so hard trying to get through to her son. she hated seeing her children in pain, it wasn't something that she could take.

* * *

><p>"Okay Mari, what do you want to wear today?" Elena asked while looking through her little sister's clothes.<p>

Pondering Maria thought, "I wanna wear yellow. It was her favorite color."

"You sure?" Elena stopped what she was doing to look at her little sister.

Maria nodded, "Yeah, I think she'd like it."

"Okay. Let's do it." Elena turned back towards the dresser to find something that would definitely be approved of.

_"Anna, come on." Elena begged. "We're going to be late. Just put on this shirt." She tried to reason with her sister but she wasn't getting very far._

_"No!" Four year old Anna said to her sister. "I wanna wear my yellow dress!" Her pout present on her face. She always thought she could get anything she wanted with that pout. And most of the time it worked._

_"It's not clean, Anna." _

_"I don't care! I wanna wear my yellow dress. That pink shirt is ugly."_

_"Fine." Elena finally gave in. "Here, why don't you wear this yellow shirt?" _

_"Okay! I love yellow! Don't you love yellow, Lena?" Anna said still not able to pronounce her sister's name completely._

_"I love yellow on you, cutie pie." Elena smiled. Finally something was going somewhat her way. As long as her sister smiled that was all that mattered._

_Anna put on the shirt and smiled up at her sister._

* * *

><p>"Hey dad," Stefan said, his wide blue eyes looking up at his father, "Are momma and Damon gonna be okay?"<p>

"I think so Stef," Giuseppe said. "It's been a hard couple of months for all of us. Especially Damon. He's still blaming himself for what happened."

"But it's not his fault, it is?" He asked innocently.

"Of course not, Stefan." Giuseppe said vehemently.

"Okay, good. I really miss her sometimes, dad," Stefan said with tears welling up in his big green eyes.

"Me too, bud. Me too." Giuseppe replied, trying to comfort his son in his arms. Just as he did that, his two beautiful daughters walked in the living room. Both wearing yellow, making their doe eyes pop with their beautiful and long dark brown curls framing their faces perfectly.

"Hey dad, Maria and I are gonna go to the park for a while, okay?" Elena said.

"No," Giuseppe replied, "I don't want you driving alone."

"Dad! I'm seventeen. I've been driving alone for almost two years. And besides, we were gonna walk to the one that's like 3 blocks away." She said, exasperated. Elena just wished everything could just go back to normal.

"As long as you're not driving, hun. Just call me when you get there."

"Okay, love you, daddy."

"Love you, too, sweetie."

* * *

><p>While walking to the park, Elena and Maria passed by a little wooden cross on the right side of the road that said 'Anna' in all caps. Something they had been too emotionally afraid to go visit for the past couple of months. They stopped by it for a second to pay their respects. They still couldn't believe what had happened just a few short months ago.<p>

Arriving at the park, Elena called her dad, as promised. "Hey, daddy. We're here. We stopped by the site. It's the first time I've been to it. It was really hard. For both of us."

"I'm sorry, baby girl. Thanks for callin'. How's Mari?"

"She's good. I think it was worse for me than for her. Some of her friends are here so she's playing with them."

"Okay, just make sure you keep an eye on her and call me when you leave."

"Okay, I will. Love you."

"Love you too, bye."

* * *

><p>Stefan got up from sitting with his dad and walked towards Damon's room. Upon approaching the door Stefan contemplated if he should knock, after a minute, his knuckles rapped softly against the wooden door, careful not to scare him, "Damon, it's Stefan. Open the door."<p>

"Stefan," Damon replied crying lightly, "Buddy, I still need a little more time for myself. Just go back to the living room with dad or help mom with lunch until the girls get back. I'll be out soon. I promise." Damon closed his eyes tightly. He felt like such a burden, didn't they understand he needed to be left alone. Especially today of all days.

"Okay. You promise?" Stefan asked trying to get reassurance.

"Yes, Stefan I said I promise already." Damon replied aggravated with his brother.

* * *

><p>Stefan went back to the living room and Damon continued to get ready. Even though there isn't much you can do to prepare to go visit your four year old sister's gravesite. That is something no one should have to do.<p>

Pacing slowly around his room, he noticed a picture out of the corner of his eye. It was a picture of him and Anna from her fourth birthday. The sight of this picture immediately brought back the painful memories of that day a couple months ago.

_"DAAAA-MONNNN! Will you take me to the park?" Little Anna Elizabeth yelled running down the hall of the rather large boarding house._

_"Woah!" Damon said loudly as his baby sister jumped in his arms. He was always prepared for this. It was kind of him and Anna's 'thing'. Whenever she would see him or get excited she would leap into his arms. It was a good thing she was tiny. Holding her tightly he said, "If you go get dressed and eat breakfast I will, okay? How does that sound?" He said putting her back on the ground._

_"Yay! Yay! Yay!" She responded enthusiastically. "I'm gonna wear my shirt that has my name painted on it in yellow! I'm gonna get Lena to make me cereal."_

_"Okay dork. Go do that and I'll get ready, then we can leave." He placed her on the ground and ruffled her hair a bit. _

_Running back down the hall she yelled, "I AM NOT A DORK!"_

_Elena made Anna a bowl of fruit loops and it was gone within two seconds. "Damon! I'm done! Can we go now?" Anna asked impatiently._

_"I'm not ready yet, so why don't you go get your seat out of Mommy's car and put it in mine and I should be ready."_

_"Otay!" Anna said excitedly._

_Anna walked outside to change the car seats with her long blonde hair blowing in the wind. She opened her mother's car door and started to pull her seat out and it fell. She let out a loud scream. Elena was the only one to hear her. She immediately ran outside. "Anna!" She yelled, a little scared to what might might have happened. "Anna? Where are you?"_

_"Sissy, I'm okay." Anna replied reassuringly. "I tried to get my seat out of mommy's car and put it in brother's and it fell on top of my foot", she said pouting. Elena let out a sigh of relief. A small smile crept upon her face when she saw her sister pouting. She was just too cute for words sometimes. _

_"Here let me get your seat." Elena said worried for her little sister's safety. "Go inside and get Damon. Tell him your seat is in his car."_

_Anna quickly ran back inside to get her big brother. She was ready to go to the park and he was taking forever. "DAMON!" She yelled with a bit of hostility in her tiny voice. "Come on! I want to go!" She stomped her foot. Why was her brother taking so long. 'Elena was right, he is worse than a girl,' she thought._

_"Okay. Okay." Damon replied. He felt like he was being rushed so he threw on the first tee shirt he could find. I hope it's clean, he thought. "I heard a scream come from outside. What was that?"_

_"It was me." Anna answered. A look of concern immediately swept across Damon's face and Anna could tell. "It's okay bubba. I just dropped my seat on my foot. Lena came out and help me put it in your car."_

_Relieved, Damon said, "Okay good. So…you ready to go?"_

_"Yes!" The look in Anna's eyes was saying, "It's about time!" She shot out of the house and before Damon was even out the door, she was already in the car waiting._

_Damon opened the door, got in, buckled his seat belt, and turned the car on. Before he pulled out of the driveway, he asked turning towards his younger sister, "Are you buckled?" She tended to forget sometimes. _

_"Yes! Let's go!" She replied back impatiently._

_"Alrighty. Let's go to the park." Damon replied._

_"Yay!" The excitement in her voice made him smile._

_As they turned the second corner, Damon's phone rang. He looked down to see who it was, that's all it took, the car started drifting into another lane, "DAMON! LOOK OUT!" Anna screamed. The fear in her voice scared him more than he had ever been scared in his life. _

_He quickly tried to straighten out the car but it was too late. A red F150 hit them head on. "Anna! Hold on baby! It's gonna be okay. It's all gonna be okay." All you could hear was the fear in his tone. He wasn't sure who he was trying to convince more, him or his sister. _

_All Damon could hear at this point was his little sister screaming and sobbing. The car flipped had six times and when it finally landed it was upside down in the middle of the pasture on the side of the road. "Anna? Anna, baby are you okay? Anna?" Damon yelled. He turned his head to find that her car seat was sitting upright as if it wasn't properly strapped in. He ripped his seat belt off and pulled Anna out of the car. As the driver of the other car called 9-11, Damon was trying to contain himself while trying to make sure his sister was okay. "Anna! Hey, Anna, baby, answer me please. Annie Beth, come on, angel!" He said frantically. Slapping her face a little, trying to get her to wake up. It wasn't working at all. Trying to contain his tears was practically impossible. "Oh, God!" He cried out. "Come on Anna! You have to be okay! Please. If you could just make a noise or move something. Just let me know you're okay."_

_"Hey man is she okay?" The driver of the other car asked. He feared that he may have killed this little girl._

_Damon looked up at him, "I don't know. Did you call the police?" He quickly looked back down at his sister and tried to save her life._

_"Yeah, I did. They're on their way. Listen man, I'm really sorry." Damon could hear the sincerity in his voice. Unfortunately Damon knew that it wasn't the man's fault. He couldn't blame him even if he tried. _

_"Um…can you…um… can you call my parents please?" Damon said. This was the first time he had ever been lost for words. "They need to know what's happening."_

_"Yeah .. of course," the stranger said, stuttering. "Yeah. Of course. What's the number?" _

_"Just-just take my phone and call my Mom. Tell her wh-what happened and…uh…tell her to…um…tell her to meet us at the hospital. Oh my God. I can't believe this is happening. Not to Anna. Anyone but her. Oh God!" It was then that the tears Damon was trying to keep in, fell. He could try to be as strong as he wanted, but when it came to that little girl, he could never be strong enough. Just the thought of losing his baby sister was heart wrenching to him. 'This is a dream. This is a dream. Anna is home safe in her bed. I feel asleep watching TV. THIS DID NOT HAPPEN TODAY!' Noah kept chanting in his head. This could not be happening. _

_"Okay. I'll be right back." The man walked over and called Stephanie. He had always been a good man. Not even a single traffic violation, and now this? How would he cope with it?_

_Just as Elizabeth answered the ambulance pulled up. The paramedic carefully lifted Anna to the stretcher, then carried her over. Damon could tell by the desperation in his voice that this wasn't going to end well. He still had hope. He had to have hope. This was his baby sister, his baby sister! IT was not happening. _

_The ride to the hospital was probably the longest five minutes of Damon's life. He couldn't bear the thought of losing Anna._

_As soon as they arrived at the hospital the doctors rushed Anna into surgery. They took Damon back for x-rays. After he came out with nothing wrong, his mother came running in. Seeing her made all of Damon's emotions come rushing back at full force. He ran into his mother's arms sobbing. "Mom, I'm so sorry. I didn't me-I didn't mean to-"_

_Elizabeth interrupted trying to comfort her son. "Shh. Shh. Calm down. Damon, what happened?" She couldn't stop the tears. Her child was in surgery. Her baby girl. How .. Why .. Why was this happening?_

_As Damon started explaining, the tears began to fall even faster. Seeing her son crying and upset like this, just made everything worse. Her son _never_ cried. Her heart was breaking for him, but at the same time she wanted, she needed, to know what happened to her baby girl._

_Giuseppe arrived with the rest of the kids, each one of them carrying a terrified look on their faces. Elizabeth grabbed her husband curling into him tightly. She never wanted to let go. There was something about being in the comfort of his arms that made her feel like everything was going to be okay. She explained to them what happened. Damon was still in such a vulnerable state. The family sat patiently in the waiting room for a little over an hour. All they could do was hope and pray that everything was going to be okay._

_The surgeon slowly walked out of the OR, the entire Salvatore family stood, all sobbing hoping for good news. Damon was the first to speak up even though it was extremely difficult for him. "Please tell me she's okay. Tell me that everything's fine and we can take Anna home. Please?" Seeing a seventeen year old boy cry like that was something this particular doctor had never seen. _

_With a grievous look on his face the doctor said, "I'm so sorry." Those three little words crushed them. "We did everything we could. Anna's little body just wasn't strong enough. The accident fractured all of her ribs and punctured her heart and lungs. I can't even begin to imagine what you all are going through. You will be able to visit with her shortly." He turned around and walked away. Damon immediately fell to the floor, still not believing what had just happened. His little sister, Anna, the family's pride and joy, had died._

Just the sight of that picture brought back the horrible, painful memories of that day. It was so hard for him to remember the good times because this one memory was so prominent and big in the back of his mind. He tried to put it behind him so many times but it didn't work. He wanted to remember the good times. With all his heart he wanted to. This is not a weight that a seventeen year old boy should be carrying around with him 24/7. 'It's going to get better. I know it. It has to. I can't handle any more bad days.' He thought to himself. And he was one hundred percent correct. A seventeen year old shouldn't have a burden this big. Especially a formerly active kid like Damon. He should be playing football and basketball with his friend like he used to, before everything happened. There was one memory that particularly stuck out in his mind, though. A very good memory. Damon was quickly lost in his own memories. He eyes glanced over to a picture of Anna in a yellow tutu. Instantly it brought back that wonderful day were everything in the world seemed okay. He didn't know why, but this was the only good, positive thing that came to him above all the rest. Anna's first ballet class.

_"Hey, Annie Beth!" Damon called out. His baby sister was never on time or ready for anything. She just turned four, so what did he expect? "Your ballet class starts in twenty minutes and it's fifteen minutes away. I need to stop and get gas. Hurry up or you won't go."_

_"NO! Damon, you have to take me!" Anna replied. He could hear the hostility coming from the four year olds tiny voice. "Mommy said you and Lena _have_ to take me! Give me one minute. I am trying to put my shoes on." She may have only been four, but she was a sassy little thing when she wanted to be._

_"Anna," Elena said, you could tell she was ready to leave. Why did her sister insist on being so slow sometimes? "Damon and I are ready to go. You were so excited about this last night. Come on. You're going to be late."_

_"Okay, I'm ready. Let's go dance." Now Anna decided to be happy and enthusiastic._

_They arrived at the dance studio just two minutes before the class began. Just enough time to sign her in and get her in the room with the other girls. Anna scooted in to the room as if she were shy, Damon and Elena both knew that was a lie. She was the most outgoing, energetic kid they had ever known. And the majority of the time, the sweetest they'd ever met. Damon watched as she walked in. She was the only girl wearing a yellow tutu, rather than the typical pink. Elena could tell right away her sister would stand out above all the rest. _

_Damon and Elena turned away for two minutes to talk to some parents of the other kids that thought they were Anna's parents. "Excuse me." One of the mothers asked. "Just curious, which one is yours? We've never seen you guys here before."_

_Damon answered quick and matter-of-factly, "The one in the yellow. Her name's Anna. She just turned four. This is her first time coming. She's so excited. She dances around the house all day. It's so hard to get her to bed most nights."_

_"Oh," another parent said, sounding shocked. "Why is she wearing yellow? Didn't you worry about her not fitting in with the other girls?"_

_Elena butted in, "Yellow is her favorite color. She hates the color pink. Not that she minds it on anyone else, she just doesn't like to wear it. She likes to stand out, that's what we love about her."_

_"You guys look a little young to have a four year old," chimed in another parent. However, this time it was a father._

_All Damon and Elena could do was look at each other and laugh. "Umm, you think she's our daughter?" Elena laughed. "First of all, that's disgusting seeing as how Damon here is my twin brother and we're only seventeen," she said wrapping her arm around him._

_"And second of all," Damon added, "Anna's our little sister. We brought her cause our parents are with our other brother and sister at soccer and baseball practice."_

_All of the parents got really embarrassed. They all turned and walked away. Kind of like the walk of shame. They couldn't help but laugh. Damon and Elena then turned around to see that there were four or five other girls around Anna. They were all laughing and smiling. Even Anna. They could tell she was making friends fast. _

_They continued to watch her for an hour. There was not a time when she wasn't smiling. At the end of the class, all of the girls sat in a circle and did this thing where they all pick someone they liked from the first class and why. Almost all of the girls picked Anna. When asked why, they said because she was different and she wore yellow. _

_Getting back in the car, Anna still had a huge smile on her face. I guess it was safe for Damon to assume that she had a good time. That was all he ever needed to see. A smile from Anna. As long as he saw her smile at least once a day, he would be in a good mood._

* * *

><p>"Damon," Elena called out. He looked surprised, not knowing his sister was back home. "Mom wants to know if you're done, lunch is ready."<p>

"Um, yeah, I guess," Damon replied, still not completely ready to come out of his room and face his family. Elena was the one person he felt comfortable with. Probably because she was his twin. He knew he had to face everyone sometime. Later would've been his preference but he knew his family was persistent. There would be no way he could stay in bed all day. As he approached the table, he noticed the food his mother prepared. Chicken fingers, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, and lemonade. All of Anna's favorites. Sadness filled his cobalt blue orbs. Talk about another reminder he did not need today. Frowning, he sat down heavily at the table.

"Bubba," Maria said, "does all of this make you sad?" Her innocent little mind couldn't help but ask. She cared deeply for her older brother, she doesn't like it when he's sad.

"Yeah, Mari, it does. Just a little." Damon responded trying not to sound too harsh. She didn't deserve the guilt and anger he felt. No one understood. 'That's why I lock myself in my room' he thought.

Elizabeth could tell by looking in her oldest son's eyes that this was still very hard on him. She felt the same way. After all, she was her baby. She couldn't help but to remember last Christmas. Anna always loved to say grace, even though she sometimes went to the extreme. Last Christmas was her best one, and the most memorable. Smiling softly she started to reminisce the last Christmas where her whole family was all together. A time where no one felt guilt, anger, or the sadness they were experiencing now. If only they could go back and feel that way again. Just one more day with Anna, one more day with that feeling.

* * *

><p><em>"Anna, put your toys down. It's time for dinner! Don't you want to say grace?" Elizabeth said trying to get her little girl away from her new barbie dolls. 'Maybe buying them wasn't such a good idea' she thought chuckling to herself. Her daughter was never going to leave the barbie dolls again. <em>

_"Yeah! I want to say it, Mommy!" Little Anna yelled as she ran to the dining room table. "Wow, Mommy, we're having a feast!" She said in excitement as she sat in her seat. All the delicious food filmed Anna's senses. Her mom was the best cook ever! 'No one could cook better than Momma' she thought. _

_"We sure are, baby girl. So why don't you say grace so we can eat all this yummy food." Stephanie said, sounding a little impatient. It was already 3 o'clock and they hadn't eaten yet. Everyone was getting a little impatient at this point. _

_"Okey dokey." Anna replied and everyone bowed their heads. "Hey God, it's Anna again. Anna Elizabeth Salvatore. Today's Christmas, but you already know that, don't you? Thank you for getting mommy and daddy to buy me all these awesome barbies and Maria's new books and Stefan's video games and Damon and Lena's car and their new cell phones. And thank you for giving mommy and daddy the best five kids in the whole widest world. Thank you God for the bestest family and the yummiest food. We pray that you keep us safe and don't let us get sick. Amen." Anna said innocently. Satisfied with themselves she immediately began to look for the macaroni. That was her favorite! _

_Everyone's head rose and all of their 'Amen's had a little laughter attached to it. Just the fact that her r's still sounded like w's was very cute. _

"Momma, can I say grace, please?" Maria asked, trying to be sensitive to everyone's feelings. "Anna was the last person to say it. I promise I will do a good one." Maria didn't want to let her family down but she felt like she should continue the tradition. Saying grace was always Anna's favorite part, it was finally time to continue what the little girl loved.

The whole family looked at Maria, then to Elizabeth, "Sure sweetie. I think Anna would like that." She said nodding her head with tears in her eyes. Elizabeth smiled softly at her daughter, she knew it meant a lot to her.

"Okay. Dear God, thank you for this food and our wonderful family. Especially through what happened. Please keep all of us safe, and if you could, will you tell Anna we love and miss her. Especially Damon. Amen."

The whole family was in tears after that. "I think Anna would've loved that, Mari." Elena said, missing her baby sister now more than ever. "I'm sure she knows we miss her, and I know she misses us, too." Tears quickly pooled in all of their eyes. Brushing them away they all tried to begin and eat lunch. Each day is a stepping stone. Some are harder than the day before but missing her will always be there.

* * *

><p>They finished lunch and as Elizabeth, Damon, and Elena cleaned up the table, Giuseppe, Stefan, and Maria told each other their favorite storiesmemories of Anna.

"My story about Anna," Giuseppe said with a big smile on his face, "is an early one. It's the first time she smiled at me. We were at the hospital. It was just me and mom in the room. All of you were in the waiting room with grandma and grandpa. Your mom pushed for a good hour or two before Anna decided to come out." They could hear Elizabeth from the kitchen laughing as he told the story. "The doctor handed her to mom and she wailed. Just like new born babies do, you know? Then the doc handed her to me. She looked up at me, stopped cry, and smiled. I knew right then she'd always be a daddy's girl. And she was. A daddy's girl, and a Damon's girl." Giuseppe added, laughing knowing Damon could hear him.

"Dad," Stefan chimed in, "my favorite time was when we went to the beach for the fourth of July last year. You, momma, Damon, and Lena buried me, Maria, and Anna in the sand. Remember? Ya'll buried us, and me and Anna stayed buried like the whole time pretty much. And you and momma wouldn't let us get in the car with sand all over us, so we had to get back in the water. And we stayed in for like thirty more minutes and instead of being all sandy when we got in the car, we were soaked. You and momma were kinda mad. But it was really funny. We laughed like halfway home then we fell asleep. I miss laughing with her, dad."

Giuseppe remembered that trip. It took five towels each to get the two of them dry enough to get them in the car.

Maria wanted to tell her story, so she said, "Do you guys remember that soccer game I had and Anna was like three and she ran out in the middle of the field? She almost got hit with the ball, but she was just running out to see me." Her dad and older brother looked confused. She added, "It was after momma hurt her ankle and daddy, you were at work, so Lena had to run out to get her. All she wanted to do was give me a hug. My coach was mad, but my whole team thought it was funny."

Giuseppe, still not recalling the story, laughed as though he was there. He heard a loud chuckle coming from the kitchen and turned his head in that direction. "What's going on in there?" he asked.

"Nothin' daddy." Elena replied. "Damon blew soap in mom's face. It was pretty funny. She laughed, so that's good."

"Your son's a goof Peppe." Elizabeth said. "It feels good to smile again." Giuseppe smiled in response to those words. "Hey babe, can you go start the car? I want to get over to the gravesite before dark."

"Yeah, baby, I will." Giuseppe responded. Even though it had been five months, he still hated the word 'gravesite'. He started the car and headed back inside. Five o'clock never seemed so late in the day to him. All he could think about was the dread he was feeling. Giuseppe had been so strong for so long. He didn't know how much longer he could hold it in. He was slowly falling apart. He didn't want his wife to see him like that. He didn't want his children to see him like that.

* * *

><p>The whole family piled into the car, Elena and Maria wearing yellow, with it accenting their long, beautiful, brown curls, they knew their baby sister would love that. Giuseppe and Elizabeth climbed into the front seats, Damon and Stefan climbed back to the third row, and Elena and Maria got in the middle seats. They were all struggling more than anyone could understand. This was the baby. The light of their lives. Their 'tiny dancer.'<p>

It was a fifteen minute drive to the cemetery. To the Salvatores, it felt like two hours, but it wasn't. It was fifteen minutes of pure silence with a mixture of anxiety, anticipation, and mostly dread. The car was finally parked, two rows over from Anna's plot. Elizabeth was the first one out. She went to the back and pulled out the blanket and the picnic basket and began to head over to the small headstone that read:

**Anna Elizabeth Salvatore**

**August 19, 2006 – March 14, 2010**

**Beloved Daughter and Sister**

"**We love you, Annie Beth."**

"Hey baby girl," Elizabeth said as she walked up to Anna's grave. Tears began to fall down her cheeks. "We miss you so much. You have NO idea."

"Hey guys, hold on a sec," Elena quietly said to the rest of her family, trying to get them to stay behind. "Let mom have a minute to herself with Annie. Okay?"

Giuseppe walked up to his daughter and wrapped his left arm around her shoulder. "That's really sweet of you, Laney," he responded as he pulled her closer to him and gave her a kiss on the top of her head. "We all know how upset momma has been. This is the first time she's been back up here since it happened."

Poor little Maria. It was so hard for her to see her parents like this. She was only six years old. As much as they tried to hide everything from her, it didn't quite work that way. "Daddy?" she asked.

Giuseppe looked down at her with a look as if he was saying "What?"

"Is mommy going to be sad again like before? I don't like seeing her like that. It makes me sad, too." With that, everyone's somewhat happy faces turned to frowns.

With a sad look on his face, Giuseppe took his arm from around Elena and crouched down next to his now youngest daughter, "I don't know baby. But I can tell you this, if mommy does get sad like that again, we can help her get through it, okay?" Maria just nodded. She understood that it was hard; she just didn't like seeing anyone like that.

"Hey! Salvatore crew," Elizabeth yelled at her family still standing by the car, "today is for all of us. Come on. Annie missed y'all, too." She stood up and motioned for her family to come over to Anna's grave where she was.

It looked like something out of a movie. The sun was just starting to set as Michael made his way over to his beautiful, smiling wife who was very gracefully holding herself together for the rest of her family. All four children made their way over right behind Giuseppe. Hand-in-hand. From left to right it was Stefan, Elena, Maria, and Damon. A beautiful family that used to be a family of seven was now a family of six. They spent the remainder of the evening telling Anna about everything that had happened since her accident. The family was all smiles. As much as it hurt them not to have the baby around anymore, they knew that if she were to see them crying, she would've done anything in her power to make them smile and/or laugh. That was Anna's specialty; making her family feel better.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope that was okay! I originally wrote it just to write it because I was bored. I thought it might be a good FF if I changed around some of the names. Let me know what you thought. :) xo<strong>


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